Collard greens and caviar is the range in which we live life and love food. Here you will find a range of human interest stories about food and the culture of food we live in featuring home cooks to food enthusiasts, and culinary experts. And these stories will be accompanied by simple and tasty recipes designed to "hit you in your comfort zone.” There will be other food related features from time to time not to mention recipes from “moi,” because after all – I'm a journalist who stirs a few pots every now and then and writes about it. So dive in. Cook fearless. Eat well.

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We get a lot of help from the wave of new food blogs, magazines, and articles now delivered to our smart phones each day to the wealth of cooking classes and schools available for those with cooking aspirations and culinary dreams.

And let’s not leave out the explosion of network food and cooking shows that range from instructive to pure cooking competitions. Oh but the culinary rock stars that have emerged from this epicurean explosion are as awe-inspiring as they are entertaining.

I’ve been fortunate enough to not only meet a local culinary rock star – who just happens to a Los Angeles native – but I’ve had the opportunity to attend his cooking school too.

Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom

Left: Chef Eric Crowley. Right: Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom.

Chef Eric Crowley founded Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom in 2003 (located in West Los Angeles) where he offers many recreational, individual, couples, kids, and professional cooking classes. He’s a media favorite with frequent appearances on local stations KTLA, KCAL 9, NBC 4, FOX 11 as well as BET, E! Entertainment and more.

“Food matters because people need to eat. And today people clearly have more self awareness about what they eat,” Chef Eric said. “Some people view food as a fuel and necessity for the body. Others view it as a central experience as well as a visual and aromatic experience. For many people, food is a big deal especially when it revolves around family and relationships.”

His extraordinary passion for cooking and teaching are no accident. His father was a teacher and his mother was a gourmet cook who was quite fearless in the kitchen. However his road to the culinary world was not a straight line.

His circuitous culinary journey

Interesting enough, he started out as a saxophone player and music major at California State University at Northridge ( or CSUN – my alma mater). Following CSUN, he started working at a law firm in Los Angeles. But when a cooking class ignited his passion for cooking cultivated by his mother, he got a part-time job working in the kitchen of a local restaurant. That led him to enroll in the Culinary Institute of America in New York where he graduated with honors. What followed was a stay in Europe where he worked at Michelin Star restaurants in Barcelona and Munich. Upon his return to the United States, he was hired by the Patina Restaurant Group where he supervised catered events and intimate dinners.

It was fortuitous that the teaching bug bit Chef Eric. It happened after filling in for a friend who taught at a culinary school. Chef Eric said the student feedback that followed was so positive that the “light bulb” went off and he knew teaching was his calling.

Since Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom opened in 2003, he has taught over 7,500 students. Some of his former students have gone on to pursue their culinary dreams and started successful businesses after completing his Master Chef and Master Baking/Pastry professional certification programs.

The basics and so much more

Although I twirl a pan or two with relative ease, I wanted some professional training. I enrolled in Chef Eric’s 4-Week Culinary Basic Series. I learned that my basic skills needed a little sharpening. I must admit, I’m sharp now. Literal speaking because in the very first class we learned about knife skills.

“Having a good quality knife and one that can be sharpened can make your time in the kitchen that much more enjoyable,” emphasized Chef Eric. This tip has already paid dividends for this home cook.

The classes are taught in a professionally designed, fully equipped kitchen stocked with the freshest ingredients. Upon first glance, the menu of dishes we were slated to prepare each class seemed overwhelming. But we quickly learned that Chef Eric’s pre-cooking class discussion was great preparation before we were dispatched to our workstations.

The classes are all hands on. You chop, shear, sauté, simmer, plate and more. I never felt so confident and empowered from his guidance and instruction. His warmth, enthusiasm and expertise made the class fun and rewarding. The result: we made most amazing and delicious entrées from the simplest of ingredients. The best part – as a class we ate all our creations after the cooking was done. The number and array of items we made each week varied. Here’s the menu we prepared during the final week of class:

Chef Eric and his wife and business partner Jennie Crowley (President and COO) have put a lot of love, sweat and care into every aspect of the cooking school. It shows. With teaching 5 to 6 days a weeks, developing and managing new products like his Sizzle and Smooth spice blends, and juggling his numerous media and public speaking engagements, what’s next for Chef Eric?

“I am working on cookbook based on my very popular couples cooking classes. It will have fantastic pictures and easy recipes for busy couples. It will imbue the feeling couples get when they take our classes. The cookbook will be out early next year or perhaps sooner, so stay tuned,” Chef Eric said.

Chef Eric shares two recipes you can try at home. His Sizzling Grilled Chicken Breasts and Sizzling Oven-Roasted Potatoes. If the cooking bug in you yearns for more, see the list of cooking classes on his website at http://culinaryclassroom.com/. Now, get cooking!

Pour the orange juice mixture into the bag with the chicken and seal. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for as long as possible. Overnight is fine.

Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat and spray the pan with vegetable oil spray. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade and grill for about three minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is grilling, pour the leftover marinade into a small pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and keep warm to use as a sauce.

Serve on a warm plate and garnish with a spoonful of the sauce.

Tip: Tofu steaks, turkey breasts, steak, fish and pork chops would be great with this marinade.